Money off after survey

[tripleginandtonic]

Just wondering what sort of issues people asked for money off for and whether they got the money taken off by the vendor? The main red flags are damp and whether or not a loadbearing wall has been properly taken out and an rsj fitted correctly as it has been plastered over

Damp assuming not apparent before- I would ask for money off.

Wall and RSJ- is there anything to suggest that this hasn’t been done correctly or is it just that the surveyor can’t access it?

If you offered below asking then forget it. Most people will take a dim view of accepting below asking and then wanting more off.

Do they not have building reg sign-off for the RSJ? If not, the building is unsafe, surely.

Building regs approval is your first port of call for that.

A bit of damp, I refused any money off.

How old is the property? And how bad is the damp? A Victorian property with mild damp is standard so I wouldn't agree a reduction for that. Assuming the load bearing wall has been gone for years it will just be the surveyor covering themselves. It could well have been done before building regs came in. I wouldn't give anything off for that either.

Well there is damp and there is damp. It depends where it is and the scope of it.

Similarly there is a supporting wall that is removed properly and one that isn't.

You can't expect to reduce £££££s for damp work if it is only due to a small guttering failure.

Similarly if you are wading through the ground floor in wellies then you might want to consider reducing more than a couple of quid. Or getting out altogether.

We previously sold a house with no building regs for a load-bearing wall removal/RSJ addition, although we did have structural engineer calculations/drawings which we provided. I also showed the buyer's surveyor (level 3) detailed photos from when the work was carried out and the surveyor indicated he was happy with this. There was no request for money off, but we'd have suggested indemnity insurance if they'd asked.

Otoh, the buyers sent a specialist round to inspect our septic tank and he discovered it had slipped slightly. They asked for half the cost of a new septic to be deducted and we agreed. We'd already accepted their offer of 25k under asking.

I am selling a house at the moment and I respectfully disagree with this. I don't expect to get asking price, and I would consider giving a further reduction if a survey finds damp and other issues that aren't immediately obvious by viewing. I do think it's area dependent though- I may feel different if I was selling in an area where there were lots of buyers for every house, and where places routinely go over asking.

What’s been their response to your query about the wall & RSJ?

What did the survey actually say about damp?

Our buyers tried to get money off because the survey said that “due to the age of the building, there is potential asbestos”. No actual specific concerns eg no artex, or anything that specifically might have asbestos, just a general “this house was built before asbestos was banned and therefore there might be some somewhere”. We did not give them money off.

That the surveyor couldn't access it

But surely before you consider any money off, you’ll ask the sellers what the situation is? An RSJ needs building regs doesn’t it? So there’s every chance that you’ll say “the surveyor couldn’t access this” and they’ll say “no problem, here’s the relevant paperwork that says it was done properly”

@tripleginandtonic No surveyor can see a RSJ! It’s always hidden. A rather stupid comment. Building control should have the calcs. So check with your council. It’s a big job to get this redone. How big is the span? How far below the ceiling is the beam?

You need to know if the RSJ is embedded in the walls. A decent surveyor would have some idea of this was the case. Often a wall has a pier to ensure the RSJ sits on sufficient brickwork. The reasons for this are that its job is to deflect the load of the floor above down into the foundations via the walls to ensure the floor above is supported. No wall support, no RSJ stability and it’s not doing its job. The second important thing is that RSJs can twist in a fire if not embedded with the same result but worse. So, it’s important the ends of the RSJ are embedded in the walls.

In a Victorian house, the walls are probably single brick with no cavity. Therefore likely to be a bit skinny to embed a beam. Has the room got piers supporting the beam? Is it cavity wall?

If the owners cannot provide the calcs or building control have no knowledge, then has it been approved? I’d ask for money off. Ditto with damp but agree extent and cause of damp matter.

In a Victorian house, the walls are probably single brick with no cavity. Therefore likely to be a bit skinny to embed a beam. Has the room got piers supporting the beam?

I second this. I wanted an opening from wall to wall in our Victorian house/cottage, and the builder wouldn't do it. I had to keep piers at each end, ie bricks supporting the RSJ.

If it's not signed off with building regs, then you might be opening yourself up to a world of pain. Insurance won't pay out for the work.

Yes the vendor will be expecting to have to discount if survey found damp, but probably crossing their fingers you won't push. Don't be shy, bang in a discounted offer asap

Disagree, in the current market with buyers hard to come by - the seller will be expecting it.

Not all damp is the same! Extensive damp producing mould is a problem. A bit of damp is what, exactly? These days I would not tolerate a damp house. Certainly it’s not healthy to live in and the damp is caused by something that’s not right. The surveyor should have an idea as to what the extent is and what’s causing it.

A further thought on the beam. The surveyor would know whether the supporting wall for the beam was cavity or not. This would determine if a pier had been built or not. The span would also matter because the bigger the span, the bigger the beam. How that’s embedded and supported is important but the presence of a pier would be telling.

We got £2k off due to minor structural roof issue and leaks, the roof repairs cost £4,380 to fix so it was a little under half the cost and that works out as 1.9% off the original accepted house price.